Joe Louis exhibit opens national tour in Chambers Co.

American boxing great Joe Louis would have been 100-years-old on Tuesday, May 13, 2014.

Though he did not live to see it, a traveling exhibition celebrating his life and legacy made its first stop on his 100th birthday in his birthplace of Chambers County, Ala.

The exhibit entitled Joe Louis Barrow: A Life and Career in Context highlights Louis' childhood, his family's move to Detroit when he was 12-years-old, his professional debut, his key fights and his years in the Army.

"We're using materials from our Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library collections in creative and scholarly ways," said Pellom McDaniels III, faculty curator of Emory University's MARBL African American Collections. "It's another opportunity for us to revisit the life and career of Joe Louis in ways that most people may not know about or recall. People don't really know who he was - most don't know where he came from, what his life was like, or the impact of his success on America and on a global scale."

The exhibit's debut at Bradshaw Library in Chambers Co. featured a ribbon cutting ceremony, and a birthday cake to mark to occasion.

"Hopefully this exhibit will give people the opportunity toenter into this history in a way that makes them want to read about his lifefurthermore," says McDaniels.

The exhibit is free to the public, and will be on display at Bradshaw Library through June 6, 2014. Then, it will travel from Chambers County to his hometown of Detroit, and other cities throughout the United States, including Chicago, Kansas City, Tulsa and Las Vegas, before returning to Emory University in 2015.